Niue is a self-governing nation in free association with New Zealand, located partway between Tonga, Samoa and the Cook islands. Niue’s economy is heavily dependent on support from New Zealand and aid accounts for 70% of Niue’s GDP. Niue has a population of approximately 1625 people, making it the world’s least populated state.

Niue is the world’s largest and highest single raised coral atoll, is located in the central southwest Pacific, 2,400 km north of New Zealand (Figure 1). The total land surface of the atoll is 259 km2 and the island reaches a maximum height of 68 m above sea level. The surrounding ocean reaches depth of up to 4,000m. The island consists of limestone of approximately 500 m depth. Soil conditions are relatively poor, limiting agriculture, however small-scale agriculture does exist.

The majority of the 1625 population is located near the capital Alofi, on the west side of the island. Population growth has been negative for the past decades, from a recorded maximum of 5,194 in 1966. Most of the decline in population is due to residents leaving for New Zealand where economic opportunities are greater. Niueans have had citizenship rights in New Zealand since 1974, when the country entered into a free association with New Zealand (SOPAC, 2007)

Niue is vulnerable to climate risks such as Tropical Cyclones (TCs) and droughts; geological risks such as earthquakes and tsunami; and human-caused risks such as disease outbreaks and contamination of the water supply. As the world’s largest elevated coral atoll, its rocky and rugged coastline has steep cliffs which offer marginal protection from risks such as tsunami. However as experienced in 2004 with the category 5 Tropical Cyclone Heta, TC-induced waves have the capacity to overtop the steep cliffs and wash boulders inland up to +25 m above sea level. Niue’s isolation, small population, reliance on donor aid, limited water resources and marginal agricultural potential also contribute to its overall risk profile.

Since 1974, Niue has been self-governing in free association with New Zealand, under the Niue Constitution (GoN, 2009). Niueans are also New Zealand citizens. The Premier is the Head of Government and the Executive Government (Cabinet) consists of the Premier and three ministers (GoN, 2009). The Legislative Assembly (Parliament) consists of 20 members which represent 14 village constituencies and 6 common roll members (GoN, 2002). Elections are held every 3 years.

Devolution of responsibility from the Legislative Assembly to Village Councils recognises the need to preserve and build strength of family and community systems and village life in general, which remain the focus of Niue’s cultural and political organisations (GoN, 2002). Tãoga Niue is a government department established to sustain Niue’s national identity, including through language; customs and traditions; and arts and crafts. The purpose of Tãoga Niue is also to address the threat of declining population and the penetration of Western values and practices on the people and culture of Niue (Barnett, 2008 in GoN, 2014).

The church is an additional institution important in Niue’s governance structure, with Ekalesia Niue being the dominant church, accounting for 60% of the population (Barnett, 2008 in GoN, 2014). In some villages, the Village Council and the Church Council are indistinguishable. Relatively few civil society organisations exist, with their influence generally restricted to their area of interest.

Niue’s economy is heavily dependent on support from New Zealand, who has a statutory obligation to provide economic and administrative assistance to Niue (GoN, 2009 in GoN, 2014). Aid accounts for 70% of Niue’s GDP, which is NZ$10,000 per capita (Barnett and Ellemor, 2007 in GoN, 2014). Other sources of financial resources include taxation, government trading activities, sovereign assets and additional support form development partners (GoN, 2009 in GoN, 2014). Low population, scarcity of natural resources, isolation and high costs of transportation lead to Niue’s economy being far from self-sufficient (GoN, 2010a in GoN, 2014).

The public sector accounts for the vast majority of the economy, employing over 400 people (Barnett, 2008 in GoN, 2014), and representing 56% of those formally employed (GoN, 2006b in GoN, 2014). other minority sectors in Niue include tourism, fishing, with noni and vanilla which are being developed as a cash crop for export (GoN, 2009). Trade and tourism suffer from limited transport options, with only weekly flights to/from Auckland servicing the island and the channel accessing Alofi wharf too small for large shipping vessels.

The NDMCC acting as the secretariat of the JNAP is also the UNFCCC Focal Point for the country instrumental in facilitating key reports such as the first (2001) and second (2014) national communication report to the UNFCCC. The second national communication report development process involved some stakeholder consultation, alongside developing and tracking greenhouse gas emissions in line with UNFCCC requirements. The JNAP development, supported by SPC (SOPAC) and SPREP was developed in the backdrop of key CCA and DRM project such as PACC, IWRM and the Niue Climate ChangePolicy, Coastal DevelopmentPolicy and Niue National Disaster Plan.

In times of emergency and disaster, Cabinet maintains overall responsibility for disaster management (GoN, 2010b in GoN, 2014). on a day-to-day basis, the National Disaster Council (NDC) is the designated authority as the central coordinator for all hazards, while the Police undertake much of the required work (GoN, 2010b).

Village Councils, Government departments and the Police have additional responsibilities in terms of risk reduction and awareness raising which are outlined in the National Disaster Plan (2010). The National Emergency operations Centre (NEoC) is housed in the Broadcasting Corporation of Niue building and it is the responsibility of the Police to ensure equipment is functioning.

Niue has five main climate changeadaptation goals as outlined below, that it will like to progress for a safer and more resilient future. For detailed information on each of the goals, download a copy of the JNAP please click here

The annual and half-year mean temperatures have warmed at Alofi-Hanan Airport since 1940. The frequency of warm days and warm nights has significantly increased while cool days have decreased at Alofi-Hanan Airport. Annual and half-year rainfall trends show little change at Alofi-Hanan Airport since 1905. There has also been little change in extreme rainfall since 1915.

Tropical cyclones affect Niue mainly between November and April. An average of 10 cyclones per decade developed within or crossed the Niue Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between the 1969/70 and 2010/11 seasons. Six of the 24 tropical cyclones (25%) between the 1981/82 and 2010/11 seasons became severe events (Category 3 or stronger) in the Niue EEZ. Available data are not suitable for assessing long-term trends.

Wind-waves at Niue have a nearly constant height period and direction throughout the year, with a slight seasonal increase in wave height and period with southern trade winds. Waves are characterised by trade winds seasonally and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation ENSO) and Southern Annular Mode (SAM) inter annually. Available data are not suitable for assessing long-term trends.

A systematic approach to raising awareness on climate change is a priority nonetheless, (e.g. a climate change communication strategy, awareness campaigns, climate change integration into school curricula, awareness-raising on specific topics). Innovative and inclusive development of materials in Vagahau Niue (Niuean language) is being encouraged. For non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to be effective in delivering and working on climate change issues, an enabling supporting environment to assist NGOs carry out capacity building and trainings on how to effectively raise awareness on climate change is required.

(i) Review current curricula to integrate CCA & DRM with guidance from the Curriculum Development Task Force. Consultant to develop outputs that include:

Resources for teachers and students adapted to the Niue context. These should include but not be limited to template lesson plans for teachers incorporating DRM and CCA into existing curricula to assist in the delivery of the modules, workbooks for teachers, teaching materials and programmes for schools

Training of Teachers in delivering DRM/CCA modules

Trial of the modules being delivered by trained teachers and assessment in schools with future program improvement

(ii) Develop Training materials, school programmes, community awareness programmes and curricula incorporating climate change issue with the outcome of having a broad toolkit available for incorporation of CCA

(iii) Monitoring and Evaluation of Training of teachers and students continued and further enhanced materials through food security-related adaptation experience. The outcome here is that M&E supports continuous improvement of teachers and materials indicated by ongoing improvement of educational products and practices relating to DRM and CC.

Niue is one of the world’s least populated countries with low per capita emission of greenhouse gases. This means that Niue’s contribution to this global problem is small, accounting for less than 0.0001% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Removals from Niue’s forests outweigh its emissions many times over. As such,Niue is a net carbon sink, removing in the order of 139Gg CO2-e from the atmosphere each year.

However, Niue recognises there may be considerable scope through technological and behavioural means to lower its emissions this further, congruent with Niue’s ambition to be a globally responsible citizen. It is anticipated that mitigating greenhouse gas emissions can have substantial collateral benefits including: decreased national expenditure associated with the escalating costs of importing fossil fuels; improved energy security; improved local air quality; support for Niue as an eco-tourism destination and encouraging sustainable development in the Pacific region.

Efforts to reduce GHG emissions are complementary to Niue’s focus on its vision to ‘build a sustainable future that meets our economic and social needs while preserving environmental integrity, social stability, and the Niue culture’.

The sectoral breakdown of Niue’s GHG emissions from the forthcoming Second National Communication (2009 data, excluding waste) shows that the vast majority of Niue’s emissions come from the energy sector. The transport contributes the bulk of energy sector emissions at 57%, and electricity generation the remainder, at 42%. The focus of GHG mitigation efforts for Niue is thus firmly on transport and electricity generation.

In 2015, Niue has a 100% electricity penetration rate and total electricity demand is fairly stable, having recorded only 3% growth from 2008 to 2012. However Niue is 96% dependent on imported fuel for power generation and 100% dependent on imported fuel for land, sea and air transportation.

Electricity generation

Reliable, affordable, secure and sustainable energy supply is key to achieving prosperity for all Niueans. In light of Niue’s vulnerability on imported oil, the Niue Strategic Energy Road Map (NiSERM) 2015 – 2025 was developed, with the goal of “a sustainable energy sector for a Prosperous Niue”. The NiSERM builds on the 2005 Niue Energy Policy (NEP) and the Niue National Strategic Plan (NNSP) 2014 – 2019, to pursue five key motivations identified by stakeholders:

Niue is committed to transitioning the electricity sector from fossil fuel to renewable energy. The NiSERM outlines Niue’s aspiration to meet 80% of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2025, which would in turn reduce the country’s high reliance on imported fossil fuel. This aspiration underpins Niue’s contribution in Niue’s INDC Section 6.

The period 2000-2009 saw progress on greenhouse gas emission mitigation in the form of the installation of solar hot water heating, public education campaigns, increased grid penetration and distributed use of renewable technologies, and the promotion of using low emission fuel sources and financial support for the uptake of more efficient appliances.

However, Niue faces difficulties in mitigating climate change for two primary reasons. First, Niue lacks environmental base data which would be able to support climate related decision-making. Second, Niue lacks the capacity to monitor and evaluate energy supply initiatives. Without this support there is no way to evaluate the cost or emission reduction effectiveness of programmes and take an adaptive management approach.

Recent installations of solar PV, identified as the most feasible renewable energy source for Niue, have seen grid stability issues arising that is inhibiting additional solar grid connections. The power sector in Niue urgently requires technical assistance to address this issue.

There are further issues in establishing a renewable industry in Niue. These are the high degree of subsidisation of electricity prices, a small market, high capital costs and lack of technological knowledge within the utility.

The majority of fuel use is for land transport and the other major fuel user is the airline industry. As international regulations limit scope for national interventions, Niue is focusing mitigation efforts on land transport. There is no public transport system in Niue and therefore private vehicles are the primary mode of transport. There is currently no regulation that restricts the type of vehicles allowed into the country, however in 2011 Customs regulations were amended to encourage the import of fuel-efficient vehicles into Niue, and targets have been set under the NiSERM to deploy more fuel efficient vehicles.

Efforts are hampered by the limited availability of technological solutions for the transport sector. However, this may be changing with the emergence of electrical vehicles, that could serve to be a resource for electricity grid stability and a means of reducing oil dependence, providing solar charging as part of the path to a 100% renewable electricity grid. The Government welcomes international assistance in the development of opportunities for deep emissions cuts in the transport sector.

Niue is a net sink of greenhouse gases. It is important that the capacity of removals of greenhouse gases by AFOLU be maintained, if not enhanced. Currently, forestry activity is low andpopulation decline has resulted in significant conversion of cropland to secondary rainforest. Removals can be assumed to be highly sensitive to future population increases, residential infrastructure replacement after cyclones or commercial forestry resumption. The government of Niue is concluding a National forestryPolicy to provide strategic direction for the island’s forest areas.

Intended Nationally Determined Contributions

Niue’s mitigation contribution pledged in November 2015 is for the period 2020, 2025 for defining contribution or outcomes as follows:

Type and level of contribution:

In line with Niue’s resilience approach to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, Niue will achieve a 38% share of renewable energy of total electricity generation by 2020. (In 2014 the renewable energy share was 2% and this contribution assumes assistance to address critical grid stability issues). This will in part be delivered by a 10% reduction in residential, commercial and government electricity demand by 2020. This contribution will be maintained out to 2025 and will be delivered using national resources and international assistance being identified to achieve the goals of the NiSERM.

Conditional upon additional international assistance, Niue could increase its contribution to an 80% share of renewable energy of total electricity generation, or to even higher levels, by 2025. This would require additional support for energy storage and renewable energy generation, and strengthened frameworks for project delivery.

Specific actions to deliver the above contributions are outlined in Annex 1. While required investment to achieve the contributions has not been fully quantified, investments required are far smaller than those needed to deliver a resilient future for Niue in the face of climate change.

Estimated quantified emissions impact:

In 2009 electricity generation contributed 2.1 Gg CO2e as an emissions source. The NiSERM Business as Usual forecast predicts a 33% increase in diesel consumption for electricity generation from 2009-2020 and 75% increase by 2025, assuming economic and population growth and no GHG abatementmeasures.

A 38% renewable energy contribution in 2020 would equate to a reduction of 364,000 liters of diesel per annum, or approximately 1.2 GgC02e per annum. An 80% renewable energy contribution in 2020 would equate to a reduction of 977,000 litres of diesel per annum, or approximately 3.1 Gg C02e per annum.

The following references have been used to develop the country profile. It is important to note that contributions are from local, regional and international agencies. The profile is reviewed by the national focal point for accuracy. We encourage you to contact the focal points if any documents cannot be accessed through the links.